Why Bother?
Granted, every IT manager isn't Hemingway, so why come down so hard on a bunch of awards write-ups? Because if you can't articulate to an awards committee the business value your IT organization is delivering--even when that committee has clearly outlined which kinds of business deliverables it's evaluating--then you can't communicate on that level with your CFO, your department managers, your colleagues and your direct reports. Communicating the business returns you make possible is almost as important as actually building, deploying, integrating, maintaining and managing the systems that deliver them.
The winner of the Optimize IT for Business Growth category (to be announced later this month) understands this principle. The tech-driven business optimization it described cuts across many company departments. It entails cost-cutting, revenue-generation and customer acquisition. Its IT initiatives are truly innovative and "transformative." The business improvements they've set in motion are tangible--described in precise detail.
Your IT organization may not enter awards programs very often, but it's being judged on those criteria all the time.
Rob Preston is editor in chief of Network Computing. Write to him at [email protected].
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